PUEBLO, Colo. — As we continue to showcase black history month, we want to take you inside the walls of the Coronado Motel in Pueblo.
The Coronado Motel was once called the Coronado Lodge. It was known for welcoming black travelers during a time of Jim Crow laws and segregation in America.
The Green Book served as a travel tool for black people when segregation laws kept black Americans from using hotels in many of America’s cities. The Green Book would share places that served as a haven for the black community.
The Coronado Motel was one of those safe havens for many miles. Built in 1940, the motel offered accommodations to black Americans as early as 1946.
In 1957, the motel became the second Colorado motel to be listed in the Green Book and would be only one of three state hotels to integrate black and white people. I spoke with the owners of the motel today.
“The idea that people would have to, I they needed a place to just use pull off the road and go to the bathroom, I the fact that is so historically significant with the green books association here is really important to us and it really just plays in hand with how welcoming this community is, as a whole,” said Joseph Koncilja, co-owner of the Coronado Motel.
The Coronado Motel is on the national register of historic places. Joseph tells me he’s a Pueblo native and his family appreciates this building. They hope to continue to carry on the legacy of the motel.
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